Do I need to check out my luggage if I exit the airport during transit?

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Accepted answer

In general (there are exceptions), with two international flights, if both flights are on the same ticket, and you have a layover/connection/stop (as opposed to a stopover which is usually >24 hours), your luggage will be checked through to your final destination, so when you land at the connecting airport, your luggage will be transferred to the next flight and you won’t see it. You usually wouldn’t be able to get your checked luggage even if you wanted to.

If you exit the airport, the airline most probably won’t even know anything about it. As long as you are back at the gate for your departing flight in time, they don’t care.

As long as you have the appropriate documentation (passport, visa…) there shouldn’t be a problem at immigration. They are actually probably happy that you have luggage that is still in the system, as that makes it even more likely you will actually leave as planned.

Customs might be intrigued by the fact that you don’t have any luggage, especially in places where most of the traffic is long-haul. But that should be cleared up pretty quickly.

One important thing, though: when you do your initial check-in at the fist airport, you will usually get the boarding pass for the two flights. In some cases they cannot give you the second boarding pass at that time (often when the first flight is very long and the layover very long as well), and you have to get it at the connecting airport (usually from a “transfer desk”). Make sure you get that boarding pass before you go through passport control. It may be trickier to get it after that, and you won’t be able to go through security and to your gate without that.

As I wrote at the beginning, there ARE exceptions where things work differently, like with transits in the US and a few other places, so you may need to specify exactly which airports and flights are involved.

Also, things are completely different if the flights are on separate tickets. Some sites (especially the infamous Kiwi) sell “connecting” flights which are ticketed separately, so beware.

Upvote:0

It depends on the country, but generally not. As originally written, your question is unclear about when you “check out [your] luggage and check it back in”.

If you’re talking about retrieving your checked bag(s), leaving the airport with your bags, then returning for your next flight and re-checking your bag(s), then no. You’ll never have to do this that I’m aware. If you mean will you have to retrieve your bags, then recheck them before you leave the airport during your layover, returning later for your flight, then probably not. Your bags should be checked to your final destination.

But there are exceptions…

I’ve had layovers at JNB, coming from outside South Africa and merely stopping over while enroute to another African country, where I had to retrieve my checked bag(s), exit security, and recheck them with the airline before proceeding. As someone else has already said, this is a requirement in the US. You indicated the US is your final destination, but you’re not asking about doing this in the US. You asked about doing it while at another international intermediate stop in another country before arriving into the US. I’ve never had to do this at any airport anywhere in the world except JNB.

Upvote:0

It's been a while, and last time I went through a connecting airport in the USA I moved from air- to groundside several times with no question from airport security, immigration or anyone else.

By the third time I went out for a smoke, the security people were showing not only recognition, but sympathy for the fact that I had to take off my steel-toed boots to get through their scanners. (Hint: Do not wear steel-toed boots for air travel!)

Looking back I clearly did exit the airport and move into - what shall we call it? US ground-space?

Had I tried to take luggage with me, the result might have been different and I doubt that. I do believe that's a question of practicality, not law.

In transit, how could any of us check out any baggage?

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